Craig Carnelia, Andrew Lippa, Marilyn Maye and More Set for Johnny Mercer Foundation's Songwriters Project Concert, 10/11

Johnny Mercer Foundation and Kaufman Center present "New Music from The Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project" on October 11 at Merkin Hall as part of the Kaufman Center Broadway Close Up Series. The evening, celebrating the first seven years of the Johnny Mercer Foundation's Songwriters Project at Northwestern University, will feature faculty members, Broadway composers and Tony nominees Craig Carnelia (Is There Life After High School?) and Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family), Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Lari White and cabaret performer Marilyn Maye with Mike Renzi.

The participating songwriters all alumni of the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project include Kellen Blair & Joe Kinosian , Adam Gwon, Michael Kooman & Christopher Dimond , Phoebe Kreutz, Peter Lerman, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, Benjamin Scheuer, Alina Smith and Shaina Taub.

The Johnny Mercer Foundation is dedicated to supporting the discipline of songwriting in the tradition of the great American songbook as exemplified by the life and work of Johnny Mercer: lyricist, composer, performer, collaborator, and producer.

The Foundation continues Johnny’s legacy by partnering with individuals and organizations dedicated to celebrating and nourishing the disciplines he mastered and the causes he and Ginger Mercer championed.

To that end, Celebrate! The Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project at Northwestern University has become one of the most sought after programs for emerging songwriters in the country. Now in its eighth year, Mercer alumni have earned leading awards in the songwriting fields including the Fred Ebb Award, the Jonathan Larson Grant, the Kleban Award and many others. The one-week intensive offers a unique and once-in-a-lifetime experience for young writers, offering them a rich, supportive environment in which they can explore, collaborate and hone their craft while being mentored by working professionals. In celebration of Johnny Mercer’s legacy, we partner tonight with the Kaufman Center to present a few of the writers from the past seven years and showcase Mr. Mercer’s continued commitment to young writers through the Foundation’s ongoing support.

Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center is located at 129 W. 67th St. btw Broadway & Amsterdam Ave. New York, NY. Tickets at 212 501 3330 or kaufman-center.org/mch. Tickets Single tickets: $454-concert subscription: $160; Johnny Mercer Project tickets: $30 ($20 for subscribers).